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Michael Mierop
Asian Studies 100
Prof. Beryl Man
12/16/2014
Losing Ainu Culture
Bears are captured, raised, sacrificed, and looked upon as a mythological figure
in the Ainu Culture. If you visit Hokkaido Japan you will see many wooden sculptures of
bears which goes along with the animist base of the Ainu religion. Most people in Japan
are unaware of the true history of the Ainu and it is lightly addressed. Throughout the
World many cultures have been lost and many indigenous languages are endangered
languages now. I was able to spend some time in Hokkaido and in my spare time I was
fascinated with the culture so I would study at the library and at the state archives in
Sapporo, Hokkaido. I address the history of the Ainu, the cultural background, the Ainu
religion, the importance of the bear in Ainu culture, current issues and the future outlook
for the Ainu people.
First you might be wondering what does the word Ainu mean. The word Ainu
means human and people which reflects a humble tone. The Ainu are the native people
from the north of Japan called Hokkaido, Sakhalin, the Kurile Islands, and north Honshu
(Experiencing Ainu Culture 2014). Formally the land was called Ainu Mosir but it was
changed by the Japanese government to Hokkaido. From around 20,000 years ago a
Neolithic people known as the Jomon culture dominated most of Japan and the
surrounding areas. The Ainu are thought to have been the people that came from the
Jomon culture. The Ainu have a pale skin, wavy hair, and the men have big beards. As
the Ainu men are significantly hairier than Japanese men it makes it easy to distinguish

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between each group(Blank, Jonah). The Ainu people stand out in Hokkaido but some
have inter married with Japanese people and tried to blend in with society.
The traditional Ainu clothing differed from Japanese clothing by having tribal like
patterns incorporated into their clothes. Ainu society allowed tattoos which are looked
down upon by traditional Japanese society. The Ainu lived near the ocean and had
canoes as well for fishing and hunting whales, seals, and other sea life. The Ainu lived
with peace and in harmony with nature very much like the Hawaiian culture and the
Native Americans.
Ainu culture, traditions, and language were passed down orally since a written
language was not established until recently. The Ainu culture was thought to have
been, established around the 13th century" (Experiencing Ainu Culture 2014). The
Ainu people had battled with the Wajin or mainland Japanese people from 1456 to 1525
since the Wajin were trying to establish trading posts in Hokkaido (Where, since When
and How Have the Ainu People Existed).
In many religions an animal is sacrificed such as chickens, sheep, goats, and in
some cultures even the bears. An important aspect of the Ainu Culture is the Iyomante
which is the ceremony that a bears spirit is sent away. This ceremony is a vital part of
the Ainu religion but it was abolished by the Japanese Government in the late 1800s.
From stones in a pond, to each tree and all the living bugs or animals each are thought
to have a spirit inside but some as the bear are revered as deities. In ceremony the
Ainu do kill owls, fox, and bears which the government may say is bad or wrong but the
Japanese government allows whales and horses to be killed for consumption. These

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policies have not allowed the Ainu to practice their faith and show the younger
generations there cultural ceremonies(Blank, Jonah).
It seems that with all native peoples the conquerors over them typically give a
bad portrayal of the indigenous group. The early historians would document the
iyomante ritual in a way that make the Ainu seem, strange, superstitious, and
inscrutable people since they had a separate point of view on the topic and to
discriminate against the Ainu (Blank). Since the Ainu culture and traditions were mostly
passed down orally they had no say in how the Japanese Government would portray
them to society. Throughout time the discrimination toward the Ainu has attributed to a
loss of culture, self-identity, pride, endangered language, with even some Ainu denying
their cultural heritage by hiding it from Japanese society.
The Ainu allowed trade with the mainland Japanese in kindness but just like what
happened in the Americas with the Native Americans the Ainu were over run in their
kindness. Lord Matsumae was a Japanese noble who received exclusive trading rights
with the Ainu in 1604. Different Japanese clans did trading throughout the region for the
next two hundred years, a colonization committee was formed in 1869 which renamed
the island of Ezo to Hokkaido, and the Hokkaido Government was officially established
in 1886. The Ainu Association of Hokkaido was formed in 1946 to help with Ainu rights
and protections.
The Japanese Government had schoolbooks from the Meiji Era which was the
early 1800s to about the 1940s and in the books the Ainu were described as an
indigenous group but with a negative outlook. It has been mentioned for a while by the
Japanese Government, claim that Japan was a, mono-ethnic nation so the Ainu were

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completely ignored(Where, since When and How Have the Ainu People Existed).The
sad story of the Ainu is similar to what has happened to indigenous people all over the
world. They allowed others to trade with them and then they were overtaken and
looked down upon as not being civilized. The Japanese government would not
recognize the Ainu as the indigenous inhabitants of Hokkaido until recently in 2008.
The Ainu population is estimated around 25,000 but many due to discrimination do not
claim their ancestry (Indigenous Japanese (Ainu) and Indigenous).
As I was living in Hokkaido I was able to study the Ainu culture due to several
reasons. The public library that I went to in Hokkaido mostly had books only in
Japanese only but they did not have many in Japanese and English. They had another
section of books that were in Ainu and English translated from English Speaking
Missionaries that lived with the Ainu and also wrote the first dictionary in Ainu and
English. So I would dive into researching some of the Ainu language, folklore, and
history. While I was living in Hokkaido it was hard to notice any discrimination towards
the Ainu. Now, after coming back to Hawaii I can understand more about the Ainu
culture and understand some of the discriminations that has taken place towards them.
The rights of indigenous people and the importance of their cultures has been
growing since the 1980s, thanks to the efforts of the United Nations and indigenous
groups through awareness. Advocacy organizations have promoted the education,
culture, traditions, legal aid, and land rights of indigenous groups worldwide (Okada
pp7). Mitsuharu Vincent Okada from the University of Hawaii explained in the Journal
of Indigenous Social Development that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly in 2007 which, It is not a

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legally binding, enforceable law, but it demonstrates the commitment of the membership
to set a standard for the treatment of indigenous peoples, eliminate human rights
violations against them, and assist them in combating discrimination and
marginalization (Okada pp7-8). In time the Ainu will be proud to display their culture
instead of hiding behind a different perception. They continue to grow stronger and gain
more rights even though they have had a big struggle.
After over several hundred years of forced assimilation towards the Ainu people
and without being recognized they have achieved some goals towards less
discrimination and human rights. Recently Professor Hiroshi Mayurama with the
Muroran Institute of Technology in Hokkaido Japan stated, In 2008 the Ainu were
officially recognized as an indigenous people by the Japanese Government. The
recognition arose from the 1997 courts decision on the Nibutani Dam case which
concluded, for the first time in Japanese history, that the Ainu people have the right to
enjoy their own culture and that they fit the definition of indigenous people (Maruyama
pp 63). The Nibutani Dam was built on the Saru River close to a sacred site called
Chinomosir where endangered falcons were living. These were the ancestral lands of
Sachiko Kibata but the lands were eventually flooded and the sacred site was damaged
(Hohmann 23). After the disruption of the Ainu sacred lands they were finally able to
gain some ethnic and cultural rights. Now they are at least identified as indigenous and
the movement to continue Ainu culture is increasing. Sachikos battle in court was the
beginning towards a future that includes human rights for the Ainu people.
It is good to see the growth in the culture of the Ainu, but due to all of the
discrimination towards Ainu people in Hokkaido there are some current issues affecting

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Ainu Economic Status. Some of the current facts in regards to Ainu include, 56.3% of
Ainu people are employed in either primary or secondary industries with lower wages in
Hokkaido in regards to education, 17.3% of Ainu people have college degrees,
compared to 38.5% for non-Ainu people in Hokkaido (Okada 10). These facts clearly
show that the majority of Ainu people do not make a lot of money and they are not
educated as much as the Japanese population. The Ainu traditionally made their living
off of the sea by fishing but were forced to switch to farming. The lack of success for
Ainu people in farming has continued to keep the people poor.
The Ainu language is an endangered language with a small hope for revival. It
has been documented and translated to English by missionaries from the early 1900s
and it has now taken a written form from Japanese by using katakana to write it. There
are less than 100 people that speak the Ainu language. The Ainu population in
Hokkaido is referenced at around 25,000 from the government, with another 5 to 10
thousand Ainu people living in or around Tokyo. The only problem is that there are no
official ways to document minorities in Japan so there are estimates of Ainu populations
from 50,000 to one million. Since many of the Ainu people do not want to reveal their
identity it makes it hard to truly put a number on their populations(Indigenous Japanese
(Ainu) and Indigenous).
To address the current issues of the Ainu it is important to spread awareness
about the Ainu culture, language, rights, beliefs, and all things Ainu. It is important that
they have pride and self confidence in their unique identity instead of hiding it and losing
the culture. Just like how in Hawaii how there is a revival in the Hawaiian culture with a
continued fight for more benefits, the Ainu people will have to persevere and work hard

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to keep their culture going. It is a good thing that the government has made some effort
to change its past policies affecting the Ainu, but the effects of many years of
discrimination are hard to overcome. It is sad to see that some people feel that they
have to hide their cultural identity and leave it behind for a better life instead of
embracing it. Worldwide discrimination towards indigenous groups and towards
individuals is a serious issue that can be addressed with awareness, anti-discriminatory
policies, and worldwide efforts towards human rights.
In conclusion after covering the basics of the Ainu history, culture, religion,
endeavors, current issues, and human rights it brings a realization that indigenous
groups worldwide are facing challenges everyday so it is important to raise awareness.
Whether the native Ainu, native Hawaiians, Native Americans or any group of
indigenous people in the world it is important that they retain their culture, language,
and human rights. The population of the Ainu is low but possibly hiding due to
discrimination. It is important that the revival of Ainu culture continues and it is up to the
next generation of Ainu children to be proud of their cultural heritage.

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Bibliography

Blank, Jonah. "Speaking for themselves." U.S. News & World Report 126, no. 17 (May 3, 1999):
52. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 29, 2014).
"Experiencing Ainu Culture." Japan National Tourism Organization. Accessed November 29,
2014. http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/scenic/hokkaido/hokkaido_05.html.
Hohmann, Skye. "The Ainu's Modern Struggle." World Watch 21, no. 6 (November 2008): 20-23.
Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 29, 2014).
"Indigenous Japanese (Ainu) and Indigenous Australian Cultural Exchange Australian Tour
2011."
Accessed November 29, 2014. http://www.2kamuymintara.com/aus/history.htm.
Maruyama, Hiroshi. "Ainu Landowners' Struggle for Justice and the Illegitimacy of the Nibutani
Dam Project in Hokkaido Japan." International Community Law Review 14, no. 1
(January 2012): 63-80. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 29,
2014).
Okada, Mitsuharu Vincent. "The Plight of Ainu, Indigenous People of Japan." Journal of
Indigenous Social Development. January 1, 2012. Accessed November 29, 2014.
http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/21976/v1i1_02okada.pdf.
"Where, since When and How Have the Ainu People Existed?" Accessed November 29, 2014.
http://www.ainu-assn.or.jp/english/eabout01.html.